Good morning and thanks for wandering back in the internet sense of the word to the blog. I awake to hear that Tesco’s in the UK can take care of you if you are so hungry you could eat a horse, safer than cows I suppose. I also just saw video of the helicopter that hit a crane on top of a 500 foot tall skyscraper in Vauxhall, London. I tried to think what tall buildings there were in Vauxhall, then realised this was a new building under construction and therefore had a crane on top of it. Considering it happened right at rush hour it’s fortunate only two were killed.

The Clash at JFK airport May 1981 (AP Photo/David Handschuh)

Let’s push on to better news then, today we have the announcement of a brilliant concert in New York later this month along with the opportunity to win a pair of tickets to attend. Back in December you’ll remember that there were a remarkable number of special tribute and benefit nights to honour the 10th anniversary of the loss of Joe Strummer back in 2002. At the time I wondered why nothing had been scheduled in New York City, a true Clash town – in fact I was looking recently at statistics for visits to the site and New York remains by far the biggest provider of readers in the US (second only to London for all cities). Anyway, while there was an event down in New Jersey the reason for no December event in Manhattan was that something large, really large, was being planned in New York for this month.

It’s all set to take place at the Bowery Electric on Tuesday January 29th at 7pm and I encourage anyone in or near the city to make it along. As you’ll from the press release below it will be a special night indeed. Details of how you can win a pair of tickets are at the foot of the summary.

January 9th, 2013 – New York, NY - The Bowery Electric is thrilled to present a celebratory evening of music dedicated to the life and songs of JoeStrummer, for his fans. Proceeds from this concert will benefit Strummerville, a charity that funds music initiatives for those in need. Originated by family & friends of Joe Strummer upon his passing 10 years ago, Strummerville seeks to reflect Joe’s humanitarian contribution to the music world by offering support, resources and performance opportunities to artists who would not normally have access to them.

Participating artists to The Bowery Electric’s Strummervillewill include a diverse roster of NY’s underground artists, all personally committed to the power of music plus special guest performers whose own musical lives have been informed and shaped by his massive artistic legacy. MATT PINFIELD (MTV 120 Minutes) will be host to the evening and our stellar house band will be lead by musical director Todd Youth (Danzig/Chelsea Smiles), also the musical director behind the powerful bands at both sold out Replacements and Bad Brains homage events at The Bowery Electric. On Jan 29th,there will be over thirty guest artists performing the songs of The Clash and Joe Strummer’s wide-ranging solo career.

Joe Strummer has been recognized for inspiring a world of artists: “He combined cool with an uncompromising stance, infused reggae into punk and taught a whole generation of us more about politics than any number of teachers or politicians. He was as huge an inspiration to me now as he was in 1977.” Iggy Pop “Passionate, principled, genius – 3 words that sum up Joe Strummer”. Martin Scorcese “The Clash were a major influence on my own music.” Bruce Springsteen “The Clash never really cared about the money.” Joey Ramone ”Joe wasn’t some phony. He was a big part of the whole punk movement.” Steve Jones, Sex Pistols “Joe was the great humanitarian to come out of punk.” Chrissie Hynde “A true genius, a man of class and convictions. A personal hero.” Mike D, Beastie Boys “The most profound voice of any musician I have ever heard, Joe took his message to the world and the world listened. I am not alone in repeatedly turning to his thoughts and lyrics when searching for inspiration.” Bono

Joe Strummer loved New York City. He embraced its wide ranging underground genres and musical heritage and frequented the East Village music rooms. The infamous Strummer memorial painting on the exterior wall of Niagara Bar, facing Tompkins Square Park at 7th Street and Avenue A, is a magnet to Strummer fans from all over the world who commemorate Joe’s worldly, socially conscious musical impact. Joe had the unique ability of staying close to the people.

We’ll be presenting a charity auction for Strummerville, both online and on display. Some of the contributors include Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, graffiti famed artist Shepard Fairy and Antonio DÁmbrosio (director “Let Fury Have the Hour”), and legendary rock photographers Bob Gruen, Mick Rock and Josh Cheuse all donating rare and autographed items for the very worthy Strummerville charities.

My great thanks to Erika T for furnishing us with all of the details and indeed arranging for the prize tickets. It sounds like an exceptional night, musically there is so much on display and then you add the charity auction and special guests. It is going to be a memorable one. Tickets are available through ticketweb via this link. Right then, we have a pair of tickets for this event to giveaway – a name will be picked at random for you and a guest to attend for free. Two important things before entering: 1/ You must be 100% certain you will be able to attend/be in New York City on January 29th 2/ You and your guest must be 21 or over.

I’ll pick a winner at random on Sunday and contact you via email to confirm that you will be able to attend and need confirmation within 24 hours, winner will be announced thereafter. To have your name go into the hat please answer the following question about The Clash and New York.

“In what year did The Clash famously sell out a long string of dates at Bond’s International Casino in New York?”

Answers must be submitted to mevia email before Sunday at 8am EST- please enter Bond’s on the subject line and include your answer plus full name/city in the body of the email. You can also use the contact form if you prefer. Giant thanks once more to Erika, thanks for dropping in – more to follow soon.